Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-13
HIDDEN GOLD.
A Tradition that q Large Amount 4
Mexican Coin is Buried in the Neigh
borhood OF CollinsvilIes -
a Strange Story Which waRlsf Sc.
to Verify the Tradition-Nany
Believe In 1t.
Collinsville Times.

Oollinsville Times.
There has been tradition, handed
down to US by the Oldest inhabitants, that
g large amount of Mexican gold coin was
buried some where not very remote from
this place. The tradition runs as follows:
Juan Fersndes was captain of one of the
most celebrated bands of brigands
that ever infested Mexico-a coun-
try so famed for such celebrities.
This gold robber, it is said, respected no
one, not even those of his own calling.
He would hang around the cities of the
Aztecs and whenever opportunity served,
would dash Inside their walls, robbing
the Inhabitants of their glittering wealth
which had been boarded up for centuries,
and even enter their churches and strip
them of their sacred and valuable Orna-
ments, after which, he would make his
exit, as suddenly as his entrance, and
with the sWiftness of the wind his band
would fee to the Businesses of the noun
tains. There is an old Mexican tradition
that describes the regal home of this bandit
lord. The description given eclipses the
very dream of an oriental prince, or the
tabled palaces of Persian dynasties. There
was cave that reached deep into the
bowels of the mountains. Here, the ira
dition SAYS, was the more than Kingly
home of these daring br1gands. There
were two rooms. One very capacious,
the other small. The former was occu-
pied by Juan's fifty men, the latter by
Juan himself. The granduer of this regal
home is almost beyond the power of de-
scription, yea beyond human conception!
Though no sun could penetrate the deep
gloom of the cavern, in the larger room a
thousand candles, set in sticks of pure
gold, shed their flaming luster, lighting it
up with briliiancy of a MONDAY sun.
The room was beautified with costlier
furniture than ever decked the apartments
of a Babalonian monarch, or ornamented
the rich parlors of a Partisan palace. Here
was stored more plundered wealth than
e'er daZzled the eyes of an Italian brigand,
or French bandit. The room of Juan was
built with walls Of pure silver gilded with
sparkling gold, lighted with flashing dia-
monds, and set with furniture grander
still. Here, from this klngly home and
in this secluded spot Juan would send
out his spies on richly caprisoned steeds
to watch the return, from the rich gold
fields of Mexico, the miner and relieve
him of his load of precious ore; or to hang
upon the trail of other brigands and await
favorable opportunity when he would
descend like thunder bolt with the band
and relieve them of their stolen wealth.
But Juan Ferandes and his dauntless men
were not allowed to always continue
thus. His plans were finally given away
by one of his band, who turned traitor.
The AZtecs completely routed Juan, but
he escaped from Mexico with the larger
portion of the spOils he had been years in
cOngregating together. There was, of
course, some useless plumber that Juan
and his men did not take with them in
their unceremoniOus flight from Mexico,
but all the gold and yaIuables were
packed up and tied on pack-mules and
the noted brigands started north over
trackless belt Of country with their ILL
gotten gain. After reaching that part of
the world now known, as Grayson and
Cooke counties, Texas, where the beauti-
full green foliage of the Cross Timbers
with it's extravagantly magnificent land
scapes in every conceivable direction
meeting the eye, Juan could not pass on.
This country was at that time unoc-
cupied, only by the savage Indians whom
Ferendes loOkes upon in the haughtlest
disdain. The unconquered bandits, it is
claimed, planted their colony on what
might be called small mountain, which
is located two miles south Of Burns, Cooke
county, Texas; a distance of ten miles
west of Collinsville. 1t was here they
stored away their gold among the rock
clad hills in the remote past. The tradi-
ton states that Juan had his men to hol-
low out place ten feet square and about
hundred feet deep, then on the side of
this well, or hollow, they dug into a hard
rock about fifteen or twenty feet, where
to-day, it is alleged, their gold and valuR-
bles lie. The amount is estimated from
$1,000,000 to 100000. These hrigands
lived in this already described country for
long space of time, and wallowed in
luxury. They got much booty in repeated
raids upon the Indians, whom Juan
gloried in prosecuting. Thus they caused
deep seated revenge to bloom and grow
in the red mans breast, who was not
slow in reaping its sweets. In an IN
guarded moment the Indians surrounded
Captain Ferandes camp, and at the loss
of 400 men the Indians killed all of Fer
andes men, but one; who was left for
dead. The Indians did not find the well
that contained the chest of gold, but they
took all the horses and other goods
that belonged to the Mexicans.
The story verified. Last year
there appeared in the city of
Gainesville an old, blind and crippled
Mexican whose mission no one could
guess. His strange demesnor excited
some comment at the time, and mention
of him was made in the daily papers of
that city. He was taken sick and became
delirious and frequently spoke very ex-
citedly about something in his own
tongue. An Indian, who understood the
Mexican language was sent for and he,
from the sick mans ragged and broken
conversation, succeeded in getting enough
to not only confirm the tradition we have
given, but also the exact location of the
buried treasure, which was known to him
by certain marks on trees, etc. When
this old Mexican came to himself again